Kid Icarus: Uprising multiplayer modes revealed

Kid Icarus: Uprising has been one of the most anticipated 3DS titles since the device was announced at E3 2010. It has been over 25 years since the original Kid Icarus was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Now, with just one more month to go until the game’s release, Nintendo have revealed the various multiplayer modes that will be included with the game.

The Light Vs. Dark mode offers an interesting twist on the typical team deathmatch formula. It puts six players in two teams of three battling it out against one another. Each team has a health meter, the goal being to empty the enemy team’s meter. Once the meter is emptied, the final enemy to be killed is turned into an angel. The final goal is to destroy the opposing team’s angel. Bot support is also available for matches that don’t have six participants, with handicap and difficulty settings available for customization prior to the match. This mode sounds like it dishes out some solid team-based deathmatch with an interesting defense model thrown in.

The Free-For-All mode brings a classic deathmatch experience. Playable with up to six players, winner is crowned to the player with the highest score at the end of the match. Score is determined by kills and deaths. Bot support is also available for Free-For-All games.

The multiplayer can also be mixed up thanks to the various setup options available. Weapons that are unlocked in both singleplayer and multiplayer can be toggled per match. Player powers can also be toggled to add more interesting twists to the matches. Beyond the standard weapons, players can fuse two weapons together using whats known as the Arms Altar. A fused weapon will feature the best attributes of both combined weapons, allowing a broad spectrum of weapon customization per match.

Streetpass functionality is also enabled for Kid Icarus: Uprising. When streetpassing with another player, owners will be able to share a single weapon. These shared weapons are not immediately available to the streetpassers—rather they are turned into a weapons gem that allows the recipient to construct the weapon at the expense of hearts. Weapon gems can also be fused together, just as standard weapons can.

The multiplayer is a nice addition to Kid Icarus, one that will certainly keep players coming back for more long after its release. Come March 23, Kid Icarus: Uprising will probably become the must-have title for all Nintendo 3DS owners.